The 17th annual Devour Culinary Classic, a prestigious event celebrating Arizona’s finest chefs, occurred on February 22-23 at the Desert Botanical Garden. Hosted by Local First Arizona in collaboration with the Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance, the event showcased the culinary creativity and skill of 120 participating restaurants and purveyors.
A panel of esteemed food critics and chefs evaluated the dishes, scoring based on taste, presentation, difficulty, and creativity. This rigorous judging process led to the selection of various winners, including the coveted Best in Show, Best Use of Heritage Food, People’s Choice Awards, and the gold, silver, and bronze medals.
The Best Use of Heritage Food award honors dishes that feature ingredients indigenous to Arizona, such as heirloom, low-water, desert-adapted, or locally sourced foods. These sustainable ingredients, often within a 100-mile radius of the restaurant, are essential in promoting climate-smart eating for Arizona’s future. In line with sustainability efforts, Devour volunteers successfully diverted over two tons of waste from landfills, achieving an impressive 57 percent diversion rate.
Among the 2025 Devour Culinary Classic winners was TPC Scottsdale, which claimed the Best in Show title with its al pastor pork belly taco crafted by Chef Matthew O’Harris. The event also recognized several other standout dishes, including Chilte‘s prawns with peanut mole by Chef Lawrence “LT” Smith, The Gladly‘s cactus ham with chicharron and napoles by Chef Bernie Kantak and Valentine‘s Sonoran hot dog by Chef Donald Hawk.
In the Best Use of Heritage Food category, Litchfield’s at the Wigwam won with its buffalo and tepary bean stew. Nella’s Innovative Kreations earned a runner-up position with their corn tortilla featuring tepary bean hummus, prickly pear, and Sonora white wheat berries.
The People’s Choice Awards saw a tie for Best Savory Bite between Clever Koi’s pork chashu gordita and Gastronomic Union of Tucson (GUT) Chefs’ Sonoran beef roulade. The Best Sweet Bite award also went to GUT Chefs for their Seville orange and prickly pear verrine, while Iconic Cocktail Co claimed the Best Sip Award.
The Gold Medal honors were awarded to several top-tier establishments, including The Gladly, Valentine, Chilte, Litchfield’s at the Wigwam, and TPC Scottsdale. Meanwhile, the Silver Medal was presented to many other exceptional restaurants, such as Aioli Gourmet Burger, Barrio Bread, Clever Koi, and Gertrude’s at the Desert Botanical Garden, among many others. Bronze Medal recipients included Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co., Barley & Smoke, Gastronomic Union of Tucson (GUT) Chefs, and The Joy Bus.
The event was made possible thanks to the support of various sponsors, including the Young Presidents’ Organization, TCI Wealth Advisors, Sprouts Farmers Markets, and Lyft, among many others. A special thank you was extended to judges Bahar Anooshahr, Christopher Gross, Lori A. Hashimoto, Howard Seftel, and Janos Wilder for their expertise.
This year’s Devour Culinary Classic highlighted the exceptional culinary talents of Arizona’s chefs and underscored the importance of sustainability, community involvement, and the celebration of local ingredients. For more information, visit devourphoenix.com.
